Donate Now!

Donations to the EEU 

To make a donation to the EEU, please click here.  Secure online donations are made using AuctionPay.

Fitness Seminar 

SEMINAR On Lifetime Food Control/Fat-Weightloss

"Permanent Results"

Presented by

TOP AREA & NATIONAL FITNESS TRAINER: FRANKIE RONGO aka "Coach Frankie"

www.frankierongo.com

Ace Certified - IDEA Elite Status - Masters (over 45) Bodybuilding Champion - Powerlifting Champion - HOA Foodplan author - Inventor - Education Major - TV Fitness Analyst - Trains 250 sessions per month "35 Years of Practical Experience"

DATE: Saturday, November 3^rd

TIME: 12:30pm

Location: EEU (Room CD 150)

Donation: $20 (All proceeds to benefit the EEU)

Cash or check only (collected at the door)

Parking: Parking is free after 12:00pm

Carol J. VanRoekel Children's Garden at the Experimental Education Unit

History: The idea for a Children's Therapy Garden at the EEU started as a class assignment in early 2005 for students in the Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT) program, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington. Elizabeth Kanny, OT faculty, presented it as a master's project idea and two MOT students signed on. The idea to convert an under-used and uninviting space into a therapeutic garden was then formally proposed to the EEU. Since then, the "garden project" has developed into a full time, ongoing master's project for second year MOT students and is in its second year.

In the first year, 2005-2006, activities included fundraising, garden design, and developing lesson plans for gardening activities with the children. We partnered with landscape architecture students and their faculty advisor to design a garden accessible to children with special needs.  In September 2006 the garden was built. In the second year, three new MOT students came on the project to continue fundraising, designing sandbox and sound garden elements, selecting plants, implementing lesson plans, and other activities. We are planning a dedication ceremony for February 28, 2007.

Occupational Therapy:  Occupational therapists provide services related to functional performance in everyday life.  The focus of OT intervention is:

• Increasing independent function
• Enhancing development
• Minimizing or preventing disability

Occupational therapists can help children reach their full potential by using gardening as a means of evaluation and intervention for children with and without special needs.  This can involve activities in the classroom focused on plants, bugs and nature, and it can involve activities in the actual garden such as digging in the dirt, planting seeds for flowers and vegetables, watering plants, and touching, smelling, and tasting the edible plants in the garden. 

Purpose: The purpose of the garden is to provide an area where children can participate in activities to support and enhance their work in the classroom. Garden activities are unique in that they offer opportunities for sensory experiences, exercise, socialization, learning, creativity, and just plain fun. 

The garden design includes:

            Two raised beds for planting

            Sandbox area

            Sound wall/sensory area

It is very much a work in progress...

• $30,000 raised in cash and in-kind donations over 1 ½ years
• Lots of donated labor and materials
• Major garden elements built in September 2006
• Need money for plants, supplies, and materials to implement garden lesson plans
• Additional garden features (sandbox and sound areas) will be built in 2007

Literature: There is much literature on gardening and horticultural therapy for children providing evidence of gardening as therapeutic for children with special needs. Gardening is a fun and non-threatening activity that helps to develop gross motor skills, dexterity, and coordination. It focuses children on successful, functional outcomes, as well as providing physiological, social, emotional, and physical benefits.  In addition, gardening is useful for education and development.  Natural scenes increase a child's interest and attention span.  Working in a garden "makes up" for missed or delayed sensory experiences. The realistic environment stimulates multimodal learning and an appreciation of the natural world, ecology, and natural concepts. 

How you can help: This garden has been made possible by the generosity of people in the community who have donated their time, labor, money, and skills to this project.  We would appreciate your support as follows:

• Cash contributions to assist us in purchasing plants and other supplies. This is the single greatest need for our continued progress.
• Gardening supplies including gardening tools such as rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows, gloves, and pots. These can be large or child sized. New supplies are preferred.
• Labor - both the construction and maintenance of the garden relies on volunteers for planting, weeding, pruning, and soil maintenance.